'They shall await your time.' 'I have a special reason for wishing them not to see me here. If you ask
why, I can tell you. They mistakenly suspect my interest to be less in
astronomy than in the astronomer, and they must have no showing for such
a wild notion. What can you do to keep them out?' 'I'll lock the door,' said Swithin. 'They will then think I am away.' He
ran down the staircase, and she could hear him hastily turning the key.
Lady Constantine sighed.
'What weakness, what weakness!' she said to herself. 'That envied power
of self-control, where is it? That power of concealment which a woman
should have--where? To run such risks, to come here alone,--oh, if it
were known! But I was always so,--always!' She jumped up, and followed him downstairs.